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I Don't Find Sleep Paralysis Frightening...

by Rizu
(Maine)

Interestingly enough, I've only ever had sleep paralysis when waking up from a nap, but never when waking up in the morning. Every time it's happened, I've almost always had hallucinations accompany it...but they were never scary hallucinations. For example, one day I was taking a nap in my car during study hall at school, and upon waking up from it, I couldn't move, and I was sure that my mother, grandmother, and two aunts were standing outside the car and talking, though I couldn't make out what they were saying. When my cell phone's alarm went off to tell me that study hall was over, I was able to move and my relatives were gone.


Just today, actually, I woke up from a nap and hallucinated that my boyfriend had called me. In my hallucination, I was holding the phone, even though it was really on the other side of the room. However, I struggled to talk with him, since I had a hard time making noise in that state. When I woke up for real, the phone was on the other side of the room where I had left it.

Those are just a couple of examples, but the experience of sleep paralysis has never frightened me, like it seems to frighten many other people. Perhaps it is because I knew of the phenomenon beforehand, although the first time it happened to me, I didn't realize that it was sleep paralysis until after the fact. I've never had scary hallucinations, just pretty normal ones, usually about my family or friends. I can only describe the feeling as having basically no energy. I try to move, but it feels like I just can't gather up enough strength. When I come out of it, though, moving is as easy as ever. It's as though the gravity levels have suddenly shifted. I feel very lucky that it's never frightened me, though, because some of the stories I've heard about it are absolutely horrifying.

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May 30, 2011
 Anxiety
by: Namida

i think its mostly from the Anxiety feeling you get from not fully understanding whats going on, especially for people who think they are alone in this and experience it for the first time, especially for me cause it feels like your dieing at times.
Aug 03, 2011
 Finally
by: Miranda

I have been trying to find out what my sleeping problems were, at first I thought it was sleep apnea, but then came to realize it is sleep paralysis. I have been looking online for a few hours to research the condition, and can only find stories about terrifying hallucinations. None of my hallucinations have been scary, they are quite similar to yours, though sometimes i do stop breathing while paralyzed and that is quite terrifying. But thank you for posting this, I now know that you don't have to have dreams about shadow people, demons and aliens to have this problem.
Nov 11, 2011
 I struggle
by: John

Like most others here, it only happens to me after napping. I have at times fought against it, trying to move. I have succeeded succeeded from time to time in waking myself up with a violent jerk.
Mar 08, 2012
 Not Scared Either NEW
by: Anonymous

i am a 24 yr old woman n ive had these dreams as long as i can remember. the scariest thing that has occured in my dreams is that i absolutely can not move or talk, no matter how hard i try. they always have only involved people i know but the places all always different. i have them at night and also during naps. a few times ive tried to hit someone (always someone i know) but i cant bring my hand up to do so, or i try to walk or run but never really felt fearful of anything. no matter what the dream is i never can move in it, which is one of the most aggrevating thing about this. my legs feel like they're buried in cement n really heavy n my arms are 500 lb. weights, that will not move. when i wake up im ok n i can move just fine, altough they do wake me up sometimes as much as a few times per night. these dreams have been happening more n more lately so i got on the 'net to see what they mean, when i found this site. now atleast i know that im not alone in this, and really happy that my dreams are not scary like the other stories ive read. im very sorry people have to be so scared to go to sleep, i hope mine never turn into that. thanks for giving me a piece of mind!
Jan 03, 2013
 Same NEW
by: Anonymous

The same thing sort of happened with me even though I only experienced sleep paralysis once. I wanted to try it cause I wanted to learn how to lucid dream. So as soon as I got into sleep paralysis, I darted to hear noises. Nothing scary though. Just normal noises. The first noise I heard was someone was opening the dresser cupboard in my grandmas room next to mine and since the whole house was quiet I could hear it. Than I started to think that someone was in the house. So when I tried to yell for my mum I couldn't say anything. I couldn't even move. So I started to breath irregularly like I had read in a couple places and it had worked. I got up and checked to see if anyone was awake but nothing had happened. And after that I never really got the chance to try sleep paralysis again.
May 27, 2013
 Not so bad NEW
by: JM

I've been experiencing SP recently. This is after much study about out-of-body experiences and trying to induce one. I've realized SP can be a nice launching off point for an OBE. The state can be alarming and confusing, but if you just calm your mind and keep relaxing your body you realize you can actually 'roll out' or float out of your body. It can be fun, lots of people pay money to try to learn how to do that sorta thing!

Whenever I have made it out of body it is hard to see. Basically if I can see it is my apartment and objects are missing or misplaced. So it's like a dream, but it feels very different and when I touch objects I can really feel them and the detail of the objects. I never see any other people or entities, if I open my eyes during SP I don't see anyone, but the image of my room I see is all upside down and I can't remember I'm actually looking at a room, it's just confusing.

I do sometimes here noises like people talking (can't make out what's being said) or whooshing sounds and sometimes an accompanying body vibration. Usually I hear the sounds when I intend to separate from the body and they are only temporary and occur as my 'head' moves out form the head of my body. I say next time it happens try to relax your body and mind and think of floating. It can be fun!
Jun 28, 2014
 I've had it too. NEW
by: Anonymous

I've only had it a few times but mine were good experiences too, not frightening at all and mine also happened with napping after coming home after a hard day's work. I've also never had it after a night's sleep either. I think one of the things that triggered it with me was it happening in the daytime and falling asleep on the sofa with bright sunlight shining on my face through the windows; the sun used to set low on that side of the house. The bright light against my eyelids etc., and maybe even being a bit dehydrated. I also had that sense of family being nearby and chatting, even though I was alone at the time. The room I was in was no longer my own either, it was an older one and a different shape entirely, but it was nice and felt homely and safe. I could even smell laundry and saw some laundry neatly folded on an old wooden chair, chairs I didn't even have at the time. It was just a nice warm family atmosphere feeling, like a Sunday afternoon calm kind of feeling.
May 16, 2015
 Sorry for asking/commenting this but... NEW
by: Anonymous

I see how almost everyone with sleep paralysis has hallucinations and stuff. I've been experiencing it since I was 13, but it's never scary to me.
Sometimes it's hard to move my entire body, but I have like half control of my eyes, so I can somehow see. Everyone around seems to see something, but in my case, there isn't anything. It's just the way it is when I fall asleep. Before, I used to see a shadow, but gradually, there isn't anything at all. I'm sleeping, I know I am, and I can practically see the daylights around so I think I should wake up. The problem is, I couldn't. I can't move and it's hard to open my eyes. What I do to wake up is something like when I am drowning, you know that kind of short breath? Often, after I go back to sleep, this happens again. I'm already very curious about this now, so pardon me for asking since I don't know where exactly to ask. Does anyone experience this too? Or like any information about this? Please??
Jun 25, 2015
 Sleep paralysis: (just now happened again!) NEW
by: David

I usually get it when I nap. In fact I just had it 10 minutes ago. From my waist down I could move (kick my legs) but I could barely move the top half of my body. I found my self calling for my roommate!! He said, "are you overdosing?" "What did you take??" I assume because I was calling his name, but my mouth wouldn't move to form it cleary. He jerked me up & within a few seconds I was back and alert. MY QUESTION TO OTHERS IS: "Why do we feel we NEED to wake up? Why can't we just slip back to sleep? Well for me, in my mind I want to wake up because I'm afraid I'll fall into like a very deep coma or never wake up. Please tell me someone has had this kind of episode. The whole ordeal was a bit frightening but more embarrassing!! I've never had to really ask for assistance like that before. So I'm kind of worried it'll happen again!
Jun 25, 2015
 Shadow people NEW
by: David

I happen to be a paranormal investigator & have only once in my 20 something years had a frightening episode. I heard the growl of like a demon but as I started to wake, the growl of the demonic presence slowly transformed into the sound of my fan. (Sounds like something in a movie!) The biggest question I have is, "why do most of uu feel we need to wake up and can't just relax and go to sleep? Anyone feel that way???
Aug 02, 2015
 Story to Tell NEW
by: FB antonio_delgado_93@yahoo.com

Where to Begin? I'm 22 and The first ever SP i had i felt a presence of an older women at the foot of my bed. I was Frightened Terrified. I was trying to Lucid Dream however it didn't quite work. more and more I tried and got comfortable to the point where i was not scared. Then one day I felt something drag me upwards at first i thought i was floating and when i came to a realization something was dragging me upwards from underneath my armpits i felt i clawed the carpet to try to prevent it. After that I told myself I would Stop trying to lucid dream. Yesterday woke up for a couple of minutes and recorded myself. During Sleep paralysis i felt something run to the side of my bed and grab me by the throat. I was saying Help Help Help Help. In the recording I couldn't make out the word just a noise. But before the recording ended. I actually say it. HELP. I am amazed and confused by this. Am I able to control my spirit?
Oct 25, 2015
 Me too! NEW
by: Astein

I kept finding things about sleep paralysis being such a terrifying event. Mine seems to be the same as yours. I just recently had it for the first time when waking up in the morning. Normally it was just after naps.. Unable to move like I just couldn't muster up the energy to move any muscles.. Always needing to get to someone or something but just can't get there. This last time I awoke in my hammock trying to get out. I knew what was happening but I needed to get to the bathroom. I find the experience fascinating. Maybe if I try I can turn it into a lucid dream next time
Dec 31, 2015
 Not frightening anymore NEW
by: Anonymous

At first it was really frightening, eventually I became more calm about it and I kind of like them now, more often then not I feel like I'm sinking or floating wildly progressively faster and it gives me a bit of an adrenaline rush that oddly enough goes well with the freedom of tension from you not being able to move. I used to get them at least 70% of the time since I was 15 (mid 20s now). I get them a bit less now but I can still remember trying with all my might to scream "mom" or "help" with nothing more than a forced breathe coming out.
Jun 01, 2016
 Sleep paralysis and spirits NEW
by: Sanket Naik

People said that they saw ghost or something when sleep paralysis happened to them. But when I experience it, I saw nothing. Any explaination for this?
Mar 02, 2017
 My nightmare and sleep paralysis experience is different. NEW
by: Anonymous

My experience with sleep paralysis and nightmares is different from many of yours, unlike many of you who take naps, I get sleep paralysis after a regular nights sleep. When I was a small child, about 4-9 I had nightmares every single night, to the point where I got used to being in constant terror, all of the nightmares were different, but they used the same basic tools masterminded by my brain, some of the more terrifying tools are what I call muting and muscle weakening. Many people say you can run away from your dream monsters, but if I feel I can escape, my dream will weaken my muscles, making me feel like the slowest, most vulnerable person, if I am running with anyone, they are still very nimble, causing them to all sprint off without me, if you want an example, the chaser may make 50 steps a second, those running may go about 55 steps a second, I will only go 10 steps a second, and be killed. As for muting, this occurs when a situation can be resolved by negotiating, saying words, or screaming, I try my hardest to let out the words, but they remain muted, and no willpower can unmute my voice.
When I was 11, I started realizing ways to get out of dreams, the one I used was a trick, where you press your eyes down very hard, until you can feel it, and then slam them open, this tricks the brain into opening your eyes. But my tricks biggest flaw, is it only works for your eyes, and almost always results in sleep paralysis. This started working around the time nightmares settled down and weren't nightly, and I decided to only use it as a last resort,I am a very easy to terrify kid, and that's why I use this to escape.
When I get sleep paralysis, I also don't find it terrifying like most do, I get no hallucinations or senses of "unknown presences." When I first escaped from a dream using the trick described above, I had never heard of sleep paralysis, so during the 8 second long paralysis session, I began theorizing what could be happening to my body, and named it sleep paralysis, later that day I had did research and found out I was pretty close and that sleep paralysis was an actual thing, so it never concerned me. The only scary experience I've had with sleep paralysis is the dreams that came before, since I can only control my eyeballs when paralyzed, there is no way to prevent myself from returning to sleep, so the third time this had happened to me, I had to watch helplessly as my eyelids closed and I was put directly back into the nightmare I had just escaped from with slightly different details. I escaped once again, this time no paralysis and was able to get up and think about the whole experience. My brain evolved a mechanism to tell when I used my trick, so sleep paralysis after nightmares became uncommon, because it prepared for it during scary moments, I only got sleep paralysis last night, because I hadn't had nightmares for almost a year and my brain almost forgot the procedure, but that's one of the only times, as well as times there isn't anything horrific going on and I'm just looking for a way to cheat my alarm clock by waking myself up.
Aug 17, 2017
 Sleep paralysis NEW
by: Anonymous

I've only had sleep paralysis once it was sometime after the passing of my father. I woke up layed on my back I could not move neither could I speak but I had full control of my eyes all I could see was my room but my arms were spread out like they were being held. I was scared because I could not move but that passed within seconds and I felt comforting and I then went back too sleep.
Feb 06, 2018
 is this sleep paralysis NEW
by: Anonymous

Hey so this has happened to me off and on for as long as I can remember. I've never found it scary more just annoying, ill be laying down to sleep (mine only seems to happen when i first try and sleep not upon waking up) anyways ill be laying there trying to sleep and perhaps hear someone talking like irl or what ever and im totally consious of my body and my surroundings, sometimes i can even open my eyes but i cannot move or speak (apparently i sometimes mummble and ppl think im talking in my sleep) to everyone around me im asleep, my body is essentially asleep but my brain isnt... often i give up trying to move/speak and just sleep (this also seems to only happen when im extremely tired)
Nov 01, 2018
 My Experience NEW
by: Vanessa

Well, I’m 28 now and have been having this experience for so many years now. Like many of you here, I don’t see shadows and scary stuff, I actually see my whole surrounding, if I am in my bedroom I see everything around me, sometimes I feel like I leave my body and roam around my room. I could hear my phone ring today but couldn’t get up to answer it, I had to try hard to wake up, but by the time I woke up it was too late it had stopped ringing. Just a very weird experience all together
Dec 31, 2018
 Do I have sleep paralysis? NEW
by: GS


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